Guide Akasha the Queen of Pain

Akasha is one of the most powerful and versatile heroes in the game, currently. She has close to no weaknesses which can be exploit nor any shortcomings. As cream on the cake, she has Blink. Which is the most powerful ability in the game.

This guide is written for all levels of DotA. That maybe sounds weird because everyone who plays IHCS or higher won’t need a guide. In this guide I will show the in my eyes most powerful build on the Queen of Pain. Which should be destructing in pubs, carrying in TDA and semi-carrying in al those games which are higher level than TDA.

As you’ve might noticed, my first language isn’t English. I come from the Netherlands and I currently have completed my third year in the English language. So please post grammar mistakes.

And above of all, this is not an Enigma guide;).

II. Hero Overview

Statistic overview

Here is all the statistical information about Akasha’s skills. As you can see she has a above average intelligence growth, a high agilty grow for a intelligence hero and a poor strength growth. According to these information her stats are average, while she needs very much stats to rambo/survive blink.

Skill descriptions

IPB Image|Shadow Strike

Akasha’s worst skill. The damage looks nice when you look at the first time, however if you ever played with or against a hero with Shadow Strike you know it is bad. It is too easily countered by giving the one under Shadow Strike a second Ring of Regeneration or a second Ring of health. Or even easier, the one affected can eat a tree.

Akasha’s best spell, period. Blink is the most powerful ability in the whole game. It’s more powerful than Freezing Field, more versatile than Storm Bolt and it’s just the most powerful ability in the whole game. Remember that.

Blink makes Akasha different than most heroes of her kind. Blink is what makes Akasha a battle mage. Which sounds extremely stupid but works oh so well.

Blink makes or break Akasha and it should be the primary thing to learn if you want to utilize imbaness.

Blink’s range is quite impressive, look at Piemonger’s quote from his Anti-Mage guide:QUOTEThe range is really quite impressive, about 1000 or so. However, if you click beyond Blink's range you will only be about to travel about 800 with it. People frequently tend to underestimate how far they can go with Blink and fail to use all of the Anti-Mage’s potential as a result.

Blink is also able to avoid attack projectiles. It is able to avoid all simple attacks, i.e. a simple Drow Ranger attack, or worse, a tower attack. Avoiding tower attacks is quite the most important thing to know before you are going to Rambo through towers. You can also avoid other attack projectiles, like Storm Bolt, or even worse, Omnislash. Blink is an extremely powerful ability, just keep that in mind.

Although Blink is Akasha’s most powerful spell, this is her bread and butter spell. This spell makes you a very good farmer mid and late game. Also this skill makes you a good laner early game, combined with your deadly Shadow Strike or Shadow Strike + Sonic Wave combo, you can have strong control.

Animation cancelling is quite important with this skill and quite easy. If you cast it, it is able to almost click to somewhere else instantly. Practice makes perfect.

A strong AoE ultimate. The best part about it, is that it’s casted instantly, unlike Epicentre or Freezing Field.

The most important thing to remember when using this skill is that it should be casted like Carrion Swarm, Dragon Slave and Breathe Fire. I can't stress it enough. Look at this picture:

IPB ImageThe very impressive range of Sonic Wave

Do you see that enormous distance it travels? Also notice, if I am correctly anyway, it travels in a rectangle not in a pawn(or pion, whatever the right word maybe. I found it on a dictionary on internet). It actually doesnt travel in a rectangle..

Always click the ground in the front of your target. If you do not do that you will waste the enormous range of Sonic Wave, which you really don’t want.

You will think 600 damage isn’t a very big deal, don’t you? Compared to Epicenter, Chain Frost and Finger of Death perhaps it is. However, this skill is instant, doesn’t have any channelling time, has an huge range and AoE, and most important of all, it is unavoidable. Have you ever thought about Sonic Wave + Fatal Bounds is more powerful than Epicentre + Fatal Bounds? It is instant and unavoidable, remember that. It’s the reason why it synergizes so much Blink. An enemy is happy farming? HUH HUH? WHERES MA HERO, he would say? Blink + Scream of Pain + Sonic Wave isn’t a joke. Even if your opponent would survive someway he would receive a Shadow Strike and some Blinks in his butt.

Note that the mana cost for a level one Sonic Wave is horribly bad so you may think it is not wise to level this skill at leveel 6. Well that is somewhat true, i do not guarantee you that everytime when you level this skill at level 6, it grants you an extra kill. It however does grant you a potential kill.

Cookie Cutter build? Yes I guess… Scream of Pain is Akasha’s bread and butter skill. It makes you able to farm good, to hero kill good and to do some decent AoE damage. Max it always, as first.

Shadow Strike is overall a bad skill. It deals, for a nuke, quite a lot of damage, 350 damage to be exactly. However, that damage is dealt over time. It is easily countered by very simple items like Ring of Regeneration or Tangoes. Therefore, I only take it for the slow. Which is the only decentness about the skill…

In general it is wise to level up Sonic Wave as soon as possible even when the mana cost for a level one Sonic Wave horribly sucks. So why would you level it then? One, you might miss a potential kill if you do not level it. Two, it wouldn't kill you by any means.

One level in Blink is enough early game, for a ranged hero. Akasha should be played extremely aggressive when she has a partner in her lane, you need stats for that. If you need more levels in Blink for escape, then you are doing something wrong. A common mistake is that you need Blink to initiate harasses early game. You should only use Blink to initiate early game when your ally in your lane is the Lord of Avernus. For the rest, you only need Blink to escape.

If you have a solo lane or if you think you will have a hard time, i would recommend to get Blink at level 1. However if you pair up with someone else, get Shadow Strike as the first skill because you can have a potential first blood with it.